


Changed My Life

by stuckonalevel (AceHensworth)



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Awkward Crush, Choking, Drowning, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Surfing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 14:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15888207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceHensworth/pseuds/stuckonalevel
Summary: Michael first realised he was in love with Jeremy a few years ago when they had gone surfing at the beach and Jeremy had saved his life and given him his first kiss (technically).Jeremy realised he was in love with Michael on a recent trip to Disney World with their families when Michael performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on him when he began choking on a turkey leg.Eventually they will need to talk about this with each other. It's hard to hold inside.This fic is inspired by the song "The Bro Duet" by Alexander Sage Oyen, performed by George Salazar and Jason Gotay. There will be 3 chapters to this fic: 1) Michael falling in love, 2) Jeremy falling in love, and 3) The confession.





	Changed My Life

**Author's Note:**

> There is near drowning and choking in this fic. So yeah Jeremy and Michael go surfing and it doesn't go swimmingly. But Michael has a realisation. Yes, I am aware that getting to grips with surfing for the first time is actually even more difficult than in this fic. I will be writing three chapters detailing the events mentioned in the song, although the final one will be a bit more serious in tone than the song itself is. Feel free to message me on tumblr or the BMC Amino, I'm @stuckonalevel on both. (No I haven't abandoned my big bmc fic, I'm still working on it.)

**Michael’s POV**

**Surfing at the Beach**

**Three years ago**

 

Michael had never actually been a fan of Summer. As seasons go he would have to say that Fall was actually his favorite. Yeah, there was no school in Summer, but that also meant a fair amount of boredom. Also it was super hot, so Michael couldn’t wear his beloved hoodie. And for Michael not being able to wear his hoodie was a big deal, it was a comfort he could bring with him everywhere throughout most days. Without it he felt almost naked, his body and skin far too visible. He worried he was just a bit too chubby. 

So when Jeremy first suggested a trip to the beach Michael was conflicted. His best friend sounded super excited, and Michael hated letting him down, but at the same time Michael  _ really  _ didn’t want to go. Plus he wasn’t a great swimmer. But Jeremy had given Michael his patented puppy dog eyes, and Michael couldn’t refuse. 

Michael’s moms had been rather surprised when Mr. Heere had arrived at their house to pick him up. He had forgotten to let them know he had made plans to go to the beach. He and Jeremy had sat comfortably in the back of Mr. Heere’s car. Jeremy excitedly talking about getting ice cream when they arrived and Michael mindlessly scrolling through the Twitter feed on his phone. Secretly Michael was very nervous, he had packed his swimming shorts earlier with trepidation. But seeing Jeremy happy was worth anything. Michael would often do things just to make Jeremy smile, ever since they were kids.

“Which flavor do you want?” Jeremy asked him when they walked over to the ice cream stand. Mr. Heere had given them some change whilst he went about finding a parking space.

“Vanilla's fine.” Michael replied with a smile. Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

“Boring.” He commented. “Do you want any toppings or anything?” Truthfully Michael found all of the options presented to them a bit overwhelming. Michael glanced over the toppings but couldn’t make a decision. He noticed there were some sauce options.

“Some blue raspberry drizzle sounds awesome.” Michael responded. Jeremy chose strawberry with chocolate drizzle for himself and paid for their ice creams. They met back up with Mr. Heere and chose a spot on the shore. 

Michael suddenly noticed that Mr. Heere had carried two medium sized surf boards over with him. Jeremy had mentioned wanting to try surfing a few times, and Michael became anxious at the thought. He would really prefer not to humiliate himself. Neither him or Jeremy exactly had the skills and physique necessary for successful surfing. Michael watched Jeremy look over to the boards and then wiggle an eyebrow at him. Jeremy clearly knew Michael wouldn’t appreciate this, and was teasing him lightly.

“Let’s go and get changed.” Jeremy announced once they had finished their icecreams, dragging Michael by his arm towards the changing areas. Once they arrived they realised that there was only one changing cubicle currently free. “I’ll go first and then you can just go in this one after me.” 

Michael waited patiently outside, sharing banter back and forth with Jeremy through the door. When Jeremy stepped out again he was in only his swimming shorts. Michael felt a slight blush creep up his skin. Michael had known for a while now that he was attracted to other boys, but he still found it confusing whenever he saw Jeremy like this. Michael quickly rushed in for his turn to change before Jeremy could notice.

Jeremy attempted to continue their conversation but Michael was struggling to pay attention. He looked in the mirror in the cubicle and felt nauseous. He stared at his chubby legs and stomach with disappointment, he had hoped he wouldn’t look so awkward. Michael’s hand hesitated over the door handle. He didn’t really want Jeremy to see him like this, he was confused as to why though. Michael suddenly felt a little bitter that Jeremy seemed to look so good in just shorts, and yet he looked like a mess. Jeremy must have noticed something was wrong because he tapped on the door gently.

“You okay, dude?” Jeremy asked quietly. Michael took a deep breath and opened the door. He tried to give his best ‘everything is fine’ grin.

“Feelin’ good, bro.” Michael responded. Jeremy gave him a look before smiling.

“Looking good too, let’s go.” Jeremy said. He grabbed their clothes and began heading back to their spot on the beach. Michael followed close behind, trying not to think about other people looking at him. He was with Jeremy, everything was fine.

“Don’t forget to apply some sun cream, boys.” Mr. Heere greeted them upon their return. “Your mom won’t be pleased if you get all burnt again.” He motioned to Jeremy. 

Jeremy began rubbing sun cream on himself as Michael pointedly began looking through his phone. His thoughts kept drifting back to the surf boards. God, this was gonna be embarrassing. Why couldn’t they just play more Mario Kart at his place like most days? After a few moments Jeremy tapped him on the shoulder, held out the sun cream bottle, and gestured towards his own back.

“What’re friends for?” Michael responded smoothly, taking the bottle. Jeremy turned around and Michael began applying the cream generously, Jeremy did burn easily after all. Michael tried his best not to think about the implications of touching his best friend this much. After a while he gave Jeremy a light hit on the back, letting him know he was done.

“Okay, I’ll do you now.” Jeremy said, turning back around. Michael quickly faced the other way so that Jeremy wouldn’t notice his blush. Michael was beginning to get frustrated with himself, why was he being so weird today?  _ Get your mind out of the gutter, Mell. _ Maybe he’d been watching too much porn recently. Jeremy began applying the sun cream on to Michael’s back. He was being nowhere near as neat or thorough as Michael had been, but still the contact felt incredibly comforting. Michael no longer felt as insecure. Michael applied the rest himself once Jeremy was done.

“The time has come, Mell.” Jeremy announced as he grabbed the surf boards. “Let’s see how bad we suck at this.”

“Is this a good idea?” Michael couldn’t hide the anxiety from his voice.

“Yeah, man. It’ll be fun.” Jeremy smiled, trying to reassure him.

“Be careful, boys. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” Mr. Heere said as they headed towards the sea.

Jeremy handed Michael one of the boards and waded straight into the water. Michael followed after him. Michael hated being able to feel all sorts of weird shells and stones and seaweed beneath his feet.

“Do you actually know how to do this, Jere?” Michael asked.

“I’ve watched some videos.” Jeremy replied, he was beginning to look a little nervous too.

“I don’t think that should count, dude.” Michael stated. He wasn’t really sure how they were supposed to start, y’know, surfing.

“You need to lay down on it first.” Jeremy explained as he began doing just that.

“I should probably wait until your up on yours okay, just in case.” Michael did think this was a good idea, but he had mostly suggested it because he wanted to postpone the inevitable.

Jeremy laid down with his stomach against his board and together they helped him go out a little further. Jeremy’s first attempt to go from laying down to on one knee resulted in Michael catching him before he fell off completely.

“Maybe try going a little slower.” Michael suggested. Jeremy’s second attempt was better, but his balance was still fairly off, he had to hold Michael’s arm for support. Eventually Jeremy tried to get up on to two legs, and was successful. His balance was still not perfect, but he was standing up. “Well done, man!”

“Wow. This is really hard. Okay, your turn.” Jeremy said.

Michael levelled out his breathing and awkwardly climbed onto his board to lie down. The board felt cool and uncomfortable underneath him. He planted his hand either side of himself and attempted to push up, but the large sway of the board at the movement stopped him. He hated not having complete control over what movements his body made. He tried again and shakily got up to one knee. His heart was pounding as his body struggled for balance. He looked over at Jeremy who gave him a grin and a thumbs up. Very slowly, and with a lot of wavering, Michael stood up. The board continued to move underneath him, causing his body to constantly adjust its balance.

“So what do we do now? There aren’t many large waves or anything.” Michael asked.

“I guess we just balance and move around?” Jeremy responded. “We could always see who can knock the other off first.” He chuckled.

Michael didn’t like the thought of either of them constantly being plunged into the sea. But the water beneath them wasn’t too deep and he could still see Mr. Heere watching them closely. So he reached out his arm and began wrestling with Jeremy. 

Both boys ended up in the sea and began splashing each other relentlessly, laughing hysterically. Michael soon forgot about all of his anxieties and insecurities and began having fun. They continued their game of pushing each other off of the boards for a while, teasing each other throughout. Neither of them had noticed how much further into the sea they had moved, or how stronger the waves were becoming.

“I’m winning, dude!” Jeremy called out in triumph. He was in the lead with three extra successful ‘knock-offs’ than Michael. They were both breathing heavily as they slowly became exhausted. “We can take a break.” Michael nodded and they both relaxed and began to catch their breath. It was then that Michael nearly fell off his board and realised the waves were becoming more unruly.

“Er, Jeremy? We should probably head back.” Michael’s anxieties returned quickly. Jeremy looked around them and became visibly nervous.

“Yeah you’re right.” Jeremy fumbled his way off of his board and Michael was bout to do the same when suddenly a very large wave struck and Michael was thrown off the board and plunged quickly into the sea.

“Michael!” Jeremy screamed.

Michael was deeper than he had anticipated and shocked. He was under the sea and water began making its way into his system causing his throat and nose to burn. He struggled trying to make his way back up for air, but he couldn’t seem to get his body to move right. He was panicking. He couldn’t think. He thrashed wildly as the pain grew worse. His vision started going dark and he was becoming light headed. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was the feeling of arms around his body.

The next thing he knew was the feeling of pressure against his chest. A lot of pressure. He could hear someone crying and sniffling, and someone else shouting. 

“Please breathe, Micha.” Jeremy, that was Jeremy. Why did he sound so sad?

The pain was unbearable. He felt lips on his. He felt strong, warm breath be forced into his mouth and through his throat. More pressure. More air.

He jolted up and began coughing violently. Water spewed out of his mouth and nose. His eyes began to water as he struggled to regulate his breathing. He was confused. Michael looked beside him and saw Jeremy smiling, looking relieved. He had been crying. 

“Thank God, Michael.” Jeremy muttered.

Michael remembered falling. He had nearly drowned, Jesus Christ. But Jeremy had been there. Jeremy had saved him. Jeremy had performed CPR on him.

Wait. Jeremy had performed CPR on him.

Jeremy’s lips had been pressed against Michael’s.

Jeremy had technically kissed him.

Michael’s first kiss.

Michael looked at Jeremy had suddenly felt his heart pound in his chest. He tried to remember how it had felt. It was hard to as he had not been fully conscious or aware. But he believed that Jeremy’s lips had been soft and warm. He looked into Jeremy’s eyes and suddenly Michael had never seen a more beautiful sight. He wanted Jeremy to kiss him again.

“Here.” Jeremy said gently, handing Michael his glasses. “Let’s never go surfing again, ‘kay?” Michael put his glasses back on and suddenly Jeremy’s arms were wrapped around his neck. “I’m so sorry, Micah.” Jeremy whispered to him. Michael delicately returned the hug, telling him it was okay.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Michael.” Mr. Here stated. Michael broke the hug and realised Mr. Heere had been sitting at his other side the entire time. “You’re lucky Jeremy got my attention, we were able to get you back to the beach okay.”

Michael offered his sincere thanks to both of them. Mr. Heere decided it was time to head home after that. The boys changed back into their regular clothes and headed to the car. Jeremy sat right next to Michael in the back on the way home. At some point he began to doze off and rested his head on Michael’s shoulder. Michael looked down and watched his best friend and felt his heart twinge at the sight. He knew things were not the same now. He knew he would love Jeremy Heere forever now. Michael lay in bed that night thinking of Jeremy and their friendship and his soft lips.


End file.
